Edward Green Bradford (July 17, 1819 – January 16, 1884) was a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

politician and

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the United States district court, Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington, Delaware, ...

Education and career

Born in

Cecil County Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Bradford graduated from

Delaware College The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

(now the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

) in 1839 and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

to enter the bar in 1842. He was a deputy state attorney general in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

from 1842 to 1850, and a city solicitor for Wilmington, Delaware. In 1849, he was elected to the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

, returning to private practice in Wilmington the following year. In 1861, he was named

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Delaware, a post that he held until 1866.

Federal judicial service

Bradford was nominated by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

on December 11, 1871, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Willard Hall Willard Hall (December 24, 1780 – May 10, 1875), was a Delaware Attorneys in the United States, attorney and politician from Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County. He was a member of the Democratic- ...

. The following day, Bradford was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and received his commission. He served on the court until his death on January 16, 1884, in Wilmington.

Family

Bradford married Mary Alicia Heyward (1820-1848), the granddaughter of

Thomas Heyward Jr. Thomas Heyward Jr. (July 28, 1746 – March 6, 1809) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and politician. Heyward was active politically during the Revolutionary Era. As a member of the Continental Congress representing South Caroli ...

, a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

for

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Their son, Edward Green Bradford II, also became both a Delaware State Representative and federal judge. Their daughter, Elizabeth Canby Bradford, married

Alexis Irénée du Pont Jr. Alexis Irénée du Pont Jr. (June 5, 1843 – November 26, 1904) was an American business executive and non-practicing physician. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Du Pont was a son of Alexis ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Edward Green 1819 births 1884 deaths Members of the Delaware House of Representatives United States attorneys for the District of Delaware Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant People from Cecil County, Maryland United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century members of the Delaware General Assembly